Invitation to Believe reiterated, Rev. 22:16,17

Introduction

This is the last invitation to believe put upon those who are reading this book or hearing it read. This is the last chance offered to those who might be sitting on the fence as to faith in Jesus. Not just faith or belief in Jesus. The demons believe in Him. There are many more who believe in Him but when it comes down to the last count, Jesus will say to them that I never knew you. This invitation may be the last one that is offered to you. What will you do with it?

Now we are going to look at two verses this morning. Verse 16 is the message and verse 17 is the invitation.

I. The Message, v.16

Jesus is God and to be worshipped. That is what it is in a nutshell.

This is Jesus finally, saying exactly what He was saying during His lifetime, but in a round about way. Now there is no question about what He means. There are no questions as to “Who do men say that I am?’ Or comments of people saying, “Who is this that even the wind and waves and demons obey Him?” Because, He has removed any doubt as to who He is.

Notice with me, first of all, this is Jesus saying this.

“I Jesus” there is no doubt as to the identity of the one speaking or the one who sent this message. It is clearly Jesus.” We saw this similar statement back in chapter 1:1-3. This book ends the same way it began, with Jesus saying I sent my angel to testify to the churches these things. This is an allusion to

this ends the same way it began, with Jesus saying I sent my angel to testify to the churches these things. This is an allusion to I send my messenger. Jesus is not trying to hide the truth from His churches but to expose them, to explain them so that they would have an understanding of the future and how He wants them to respond. Hence, how we should respond to what we now know is going to come to pass. We should be preparing ourselves for this end. Part of that preparation is found in v.17.

Malachi 3:1 ESV

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

ends the same way it began, with Jesus saying I sent my angel to testify to the churches these things. This is an allusion to I send my messenger. Jesus is not trying to hide the truth from His churches but to expose them, to explain them so that they would have an understanding of the future and how He wants them to respond. Hence, how we should respond to what we now know is going to come to pass. We should be preparing ourselves for this end. Part of that preparation is found in v.17.

I send my messenger. Jesus is not trying to hide the truth from His churches but to expose them, to explain them so that they would have an understanding of the future and how He wants them to respond. Hence, how we should respond to what we now know is going to come to pass. We should be preparing ourselves for this end. Part of that preparation is found in v.17.

I send my messenger. Jesus is not trying to hide the truth from His churches but to expose it to them, to explain them so that they would have an understanding of the future and how He wants them to respond. Hence, how we should respond to what we now know is going to come to pass.This message is more than just what is going to happen in the future though. Remember the title of the letter,

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” This is a revealing of Jesus to all the world. He is the Supreme Personage of this book. It is to show His superiority, that He is the one who is God. Not Satan. The main object of the Bible is to reveal our feeble attempts at being our own God, to show us we deceive ourselves. Satan has tried to win our allegiance, but in the end he is not even close to being God. Jesus rises to the top over all, and is to be worshipped by all of His creation.

John also wrote in after announcing the truth about Jesus being God in the flesh, said “This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me; for he was before me.”

and in

1 John 1:1–4 ESV

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 John 1:1We should be preparing ourselves for this end. Part of that preparation is found in v.17.

This is the message of this book. That there is only joy and peace and life in Him. If you try to find it in any other person or thing you will perish as those recorded in this book.

He makes this clearer as Jesus identifies Himself as the “I am” εγω ειμι the great I Am of the OT. He is the one who was in the garden with Adam & Eve, was speaking with Noah, who called Abram and made the covenant with him, who met Moses at the burning Bush and the list of appearances could go on almost indefinitely through the history of Israel in the OT. This then is an attribution to His deity and posits a polemic against any one who would claim that Jesus was just a man and not God as the JW’s do, as many WOF preachers do such as Copeland, Dollar. Who claim modalism as TD Jakes this is a clear statement of the deity of Jesus Christ.

But before that Jesus identifies Himself as the “I am” εγω ειμι the great I Am of the OT. He is the one who was in the garden with Adam & Eve, was speaking with Noah, who called Abram and made the covenant with him, who met Moses at the burning Bush and the list of appearances could go on almost indefinitely through the history of Israel in the OT. This then is an attribution to His deity and posits a polemic against any one who would claim that Jesus was just a man and not God as the JW’s do, as many WOF preachers do such as Copeland, Dollar. Who claim modalism as TD Jakes this is a clear statement of the deity of Jesus Christ.

On top of that He claims He is Messiah in the phrase “the root and offspring of David” refers back to

Revelation 5:5 ESV

And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

. This is from , . He is both the ancestor of David preceding him as the root and the descendant of Him. He is both truly God and truly Man. In Isaiah the root is clearly the descendant of Jesse/David. Here he is the ancestor. It is a reference to both and. It reminds me of Jesus question to the Pharisees, If Messiah is the descendant of David how can he also be His ancestor, for David said, “the Lord said to my Lord.” ;

This is from

Isaiah 11:1 ESV

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Isaiah 11:10 ESV

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

,

He is both the ancestor of David preceding him as the root and the descendant of Him. He is both truly God and truly Man. In Isaiah the root is clearly the descendant of Jesse/David. Here he is the ancestor. It is a reference to both and. It reminds me of Jesus question to the Pharisees, If Messiah is the descendant of David how can he also be His ancestor, for David said, “the Lord said to my Lord.” ;

,

. He is both the ancestor of David preceding him as the root and the descendant of Him. He is both truly God and truly Man. In Isaiah the root is clearly the descendant of Jesse/David. Here he is the ancestor. It is a reference to both and. It reminds me of Jesus question to the Pharisees, If Messiah is the descendant of David how can he also be His ancestor, for David said, “the Lord said to my Lord.” ;

There Jesus is speaking to the people in the temple asking them this question. The only conclusion would be that Messiah is both God and Man as is pointed in our text.

Had the pharisees understood the answer to this question they would have realized that is how Jesus could be both preincarnate (thus seen by Abraham, and called Lord by David) and at the same time be the offspring of David.

He is also “the bright and morning star.” This comes from

In the fourth oracle of Balaam the prophet declares that “a star will come out of Jacob” (). While the immediate reference is to David, in the passage under consideration it is transferred to David’s greater son. The star was a familiar symbol in Jewish writings for the expected Davidic king (T. Levi 18:3; T. Judah 24:1). The morning star is a promise that the long night of tribulation is all but over and that the new eschatological day is about to dawn.”

“Jesus also calls himself “the bright Morning Star.” In the fourth oracle of Balaam the prophet declares that “a star will come out of Jacob” (). While the immediate reference is to David, in the passage under consideration it is transferred to David’s greater son. The star was a familiar symbol in Jewish writings for the expected Davidic king (T. Levi 18:3; T. Judah 24:1). The morning star is a promise that the long night of tribulation is all but over and that the new eschatological day is about to dawn.”

Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of Revelation (pp. 408–409). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

This also might be an allusion to along with show that Jesus is the one to whom the nations come for salvation. In other words Jesus is the hope of all mankind.

ONe final thought about this you might remember that a star was promised to the overcomer in the church at Thyatira . What is interesting in that church is that Jesus rebukes/warns those in the church who have been following after Jezebel (as symbol for false teaching as Balaam) and calls them to repent. ON the other hand, He promises to those who, unlike their fellow church members, had remained faithful to Him this star. Which is really the hope of salvation for those who hold steadfast to the faith. And so the same hope is here again proclaimed to those who will remain faithful to Him despite the temptations.

Here is also the thought that Jesus is the true David and the promise of a descendant to reign on the throne of David for eternity is fulfilled in Jesus.

So then, the message about Jesus is given. You have to make a decision. The text doesn’t allow you and me to walk away from it without drawing a conclusion. Either He is who this book says He is: God, the Creator, the Victor over all Evil, over Satan and worthy of our worship. Or you reject the truth and believe otherwise, despite the clear evidence. And that is where we come to our response,

II. The Invitation, v.17

We should be preparing ourselves for this end. Part of that preparation is found in v.17.

This verse consists of four invitations. It is possible to take the first two as requests directed to Christ for his return and the second two as invitations to the world to come and take of the water of life. It is more likely that the first half of the verse should be interpreted by the second, and that the entire invitation is addressed to the world.

A. The Holy Spirit, And the Church invite you,

The Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and the bride is the church (21:2, 9). The Church empowered by the Holy Spirit is to take this message about Jesus Christ and invite the lost to come to Him. Which means to believe in Him.

It is no different then when Andrew went to get Peter to come to Jesus and said we have found Messiah. or when Philip invited Nathaniel for the same reason. This is the aim of the church to invite others to come to Jesus. Not just to believe in Him but when coming and you recognize Him you repent of your sins. You say along with Peter when he recognized the Lord, “go away from me for I am a sinful man.” or when Isaiah recognized him and he said, ‘I am a man of unclean lips.” That is the same thing.

So you and I empowered by the Holy Spirit invite others to come and recognize This Jesus who is God, who is the only hope for a person who is in desperation of despair, depression, guilt, hopelessness.

B. The believer invites you,

“The one who hears let him say, Come”

Those who hear and accept repeat the invitation to others. To me that is the most natural thing for a new believer to do. Tell others what happened to him or her. Do you not get that feeling too? Aren’t you intrigued when you read the gospels and come across demoniac who was healed, or the blind man, the lame man, no matter who it was. Jesus couldn’t get them to keep their mouth shut about it. They had to tell others. And if they immediately forthcoming, others surely asked them what happened to them. I think it is most natural that you tell friends and acquaintances about your experience. And especially those who ask you.

The last two invites are for those who are seeking

C. The one who thirsts

“And let the one who thirsts come.”

Now let me say first, that the natural man doesn’t thirst after God, And by natural man I believe the Bible speaks of them as an unbeliever.

Romans 3:11 ESV

no one understands; no one seeks for God.

Romans 3 who thirst for the water of life. Whoever wishes may take of this life-giving water without charge. John deliberately echoes Isaiah’s “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters … come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (; cf. ). The threefold use of the present imperative (“come/let him come”) serves to extend the invitation until that very moment when history will pass irrevocably into eternity and any further opportunity for decision will be past.

And they do not seek God because according to because the gospel is foolishness to him/her

1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Cor. 2.14Also 1 cor who thirst for the water of life. Whoever wishes may take of this life-giving water without charge. John deliberately echoes Isaiah’s “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters … come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (; cf. ). The threefold use of the present imperative (“come/let him come”) serves to extend the invitation until that very moment when history will pass irrevocably into eternity and any further opportunity for decision will be past.

So if someone as in our verse is thirsting, that thirst must come from some other source. A person must recognize he or she is thirsty or they will not search for something to quench that thirst. Surely you have been offered a glass of water at someone’s house and turned it down because you weren’t thirsty. But then there were other times when you were so thirsty you were hunting a glass of water, but maybe didn’t know where to get it. Well this is that. Here is someone who is thirsty, but doesn’t know where to satisfy their thirst and the offer, the invite is to come to Jesus.

D. the one who desires

“And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

This is the second half of the person who thirsts. The thirst has become desire and he is at the well

“Whoever wishes may take of this life-giving water without charge. John deliberately echoes Isaiah’s “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters … come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (; cf. ). The threefold use of the present imperative (“come/let him come”) serves to extend the invitation until that very moment when history will pass irrevocably into eternity and any further opportunity for decision will be past.”

Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of Revelation (p. 409). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

this verse then is a call to believe in the truth about Jesus found in v.16 that He is the One we are to put our hope in. So the call is fourfold, but not directed to calling to Christ to Come. But rather to unbelievers to come. This is the final invitation of Scripture to the unbelievers. He is not speaking to those in the revelation, but to those who would read and hear the teaching of this book. It is an invitation to believe.

Conclusion

So the Spirit and bride(church) call to come and bow before Jesus.

those who believe, signified by the word ‘hear,’ call their friends and family to come and believe in Jesus.

The call is for all who are thirsty to come

And those who desire to drink of the water of life freely to come.

It is therefore the final evangelistic invitation to come and believe in Jesus in the Bible.

Either you believe or you do not. Either you will tell others you have found the Messiah or will not. Make your choice.